Bless'ed Are We
by SoftRogue
Summary: Ranma has so far lived his life constantly fighting one battle after another, but does he truly remember everything?
1. Prologue

Bless'ed Are We  
  
a Sailor Moon/Slayers/Ranma 1/2 Fanfic  
  
by SoftRogue  
  
whiteb100@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
The voices in my head made me do it.  
  
Honestly!  
  
**********  
  
Prologue  
  
**********  
  
**********  
  
Nerima  
  
**********  
  
To say that Dr Tofu was ecstatic would be an understatement. It had been too long since the last time he had a vacation he couldn't remember a time when he didn't have some old lady in his office complaining about one joint or another aching or one of the local martial artists getting patched up from their latest fight. He had everything planned out; a trip to the countryside to the Tofu Estate where he would spend the next week in total peace and quite with nothing but his late fathers collection of ancient books of lore.  
  
And there were no patients in the clinic with two minutes to go.  
  
He had already made arrangements for any emergencies that might come up for his regular patients during his vacation and, more importantly, he had spoken to each of the local martial artists and asked them to try to keep the violence down; since another doctor would be unfamiliar with how to treat them. Why, he had even lucked out and bumped into Ryouga first thing this morning and, after delivering his warning, he had given him step by step directions to the Tendo Dojo; which meant that it would be at least a week until the Lost Boy found Ranma.  
  
And there were no patients in the clinic with thirty seconds to go.  
  
*Ding*  
  
'Crap!' Dr Tofu thought to himself as he turned to see who had just walked in.  
  
Dr Tofu didn't know which surprised him the least. The fact that it was Ranma who had just walked into his office; or the fact that it was a very wet and very female Ranma who had walked in.  
  
"Um, I'm sorry ta bother ya Doc, with ya going on vacation and all; but um..." Ranma started to say in an apologetic voice.  
  
"Hot water?" Tofu asked as he walked over to the receptionist desk and removed the teakettle that he kept on hand for the various Junsenkyo cursed people who lived in or visited Nerima. "It should still be warm enough."  
  
As Tofu offered the kettle to Ranma, the young man looked down and, seeing that he was now a she, slumped her shoulders and gratefully accepted the kettle.  
  
"Um, Doc?" Ranma asked as she poured the water over her head and changed back into his natural form. "I know you're about to leave and all; but, well, I kinda need ta talk to someone about something. Someone I can trust not ta tell anyone."  
  
Dr Tofu considered his options for half a second as he looked at the pleading and somewhat worried looking martial artist before him. "Alright Ranma. Go take a seat in my office while I lock up."  
  
With a grateful look, Ranma headed towards the office as Dr. Tofu went to the door, flipped the sign to 'Closed', drew the shades, and locked the door. As he headed back to his office the doctor thought about the remarkable young man he was about to speak to. In the two years that he had known Ranma, Dr Tofu had been fascinated by all the different stories the young man had told him. Perhaps he didn't mind taking time out of his somewhat busy schedule because, when he was younger, one Ono Tofu had chosen to concentrate his studies in medicine instead of the martial arts and perhaps, just perhaps, missed out on similar adventures of his own.  
  
Besides, although it had taken him a while to admit this to himself, the doctor knew that he was the only one Ranma trusted to talk to about his problems and worries.  
  
Entering his office, Tofu saw Ranma had already taken a seat in his 'usual' spot. With a smile, the doctor sat down and looked at a somewhat apprehensive Ranma.  
  
"Don't be nervous, Ranma." Tofu said as he reached for his tape recorder and; with a quick nod of approval from the young man; depressed the record button. "So, Ranma. Tell me what's on your mind."  
  
With a deep breath, Ranma said. "Well, Doc, lately when I sleep I've been havin' this Dream."  
  
"A dream? Ranma, everyone dreams." Tofu said. "It's the subconscious way of sorting out the days events."  
  
"Ya don't understand, Doc. I don't dream." Ranma said. "At least I don't remember dreaming. Well, except for that one with Kuno-baka and the one with the eyes and claws and fur and fangs..." Ranma trailed off before continuing with a small shudder. "I guess it's 'cause of Pops. As long as I can remember I've gone to sleep exhausted and been woken up by being thrown outta bed." Ranma paused then muttered "Or havin' someone throw a bucket of water on me." He sighed, "Anyway, those dreams are always different. This Dream is always exactly the same."  
  
"Exactly the same?" Tofu asked curiously.  
  
"Yea. Exactly the same. But it seems so...real; like I ain't dreaming it but remembering it. But that can't be right, can it?"  
  
Tofu signaled for Ranma to continue with a small wave of his hand. The pigtailed martial artist closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he began to speak. "It always starts with the Sword. Now, I know what'cha thinking Doc, that I don't like weapons but that ain't true. I've always thought that weapons ain't stupid, its stupid people with weapons who are stupid."  
  
"Tell me about this Sword, Ranma." Tofu prompted, not missing the significance Ranma hand put on the word; and trying his best not to think about Freud.   
  
With a nod Ranma continued. "The Sword ain't like any sword I've seen before. First of all, it ain't a Japanese sword; it's long and straight with an edge on both sides like a Western sword...sorta. It ain't made of metal, at least I don't think it so. It's lighter than any sword I've seen but stronger than all o' them combined. And at first glance it seems to have two green ribbons or streamers attached to the hilt; but they're made of the same stuff as the Sword and they're part of it. And, in the Dream, whenever I'm holding it I get this feeling of peace. Oh, and it glows; a pale green, almost white glow."  
  
Ranma stopped and, to Tofu's surprise, he dug around in his pants pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, the young man handed it to the doctor. Tofu was surprised to see a drawing of a beautifully designed sword on the page.  
  
"You drew this?" The doctor asked amazed at the detail.  
  
With a grin, Ranma replied. "Anything Goes Martial Arts Calligraphy."  
  
Tofu took one last glance at the drawing of the Sword before refolding the paper and placing it in his shirt pocket; he would have time to study it later. With a nod to Ranma, the martial artiest continued the telling of his Dream.  
  
"The next thing I remember about the Dream are the stars. It's a moonless night, but the sky is clear and the stars are so shining so bright ya can see for miles. There are hills of rocks doting the landscape and these...things that look like stick figures with their arms raised up in the air. As I look around, I've got this sense of satisfaction, like I just done something very hard.  
  
"Then I become aware of Her."  
  
"Her?" Tofu asked, his curiosity suddenly peaking.  
  
With a nod Ranma continued. "She comes up behind me and wraps her arms around me, resting Her head on top of mine. In the Dream, I Know Her. I know everything a guy like me can know about a woman like Her; but when I wake up I only remember little things, like She's taller than me. I can't remember what She looks like or Her name or Her favorite ice cream of if She likes bubble baths; but in the Dream I know these things, and lots of other little things about Her."  
  
Ranma trailed off for a moment with a far away look in his eyes, then he shook himself out of his thoughts before continuing. "Anyway, in the Dream a lock of Her hair falls down across my face and I inhale deeply; Her hair smells like peaches; and I relax. I stand there, feeling in the warmth of Her body in the cold night's air.  
  
"I then take the Sword and drive its point into the ground and it easily sinks down several inches and stays there. Then I place both my hands over Hers and gently, ever so gently, I remove Her hands from my chest. I can feel Her tense slightly in disappointment but, as soon as there's room I turn around and, face to face, we embrace.  
  
"It ain't no mad embrace of passion; although there's passion there; it's like...like two pieces of a puzzle comin' together. It feels like the most natural thing in the world. It's like...well, I can't describe it. It just feels right in a way I can't put inta words.  
  
"We stand there holding each other close, the scent of peaches filling me. Then I pull back ever so slightly and look deeply inta Her eyes and see nothing but pure and unconditional lover there. And then...then..."  
  
Ranma stopped talking, his eyes looking out at nothing. Tofu waited a full minute before prompting, "And then...?"  
  
"Her lips...they taste like Butterscotch."  
  
Tofu's mind was awhirl. Whatever Ranma has been experiencing wasn't a normal dream. As Ranma sat lost in his own thoughts, the doctor went over what heard so far. The fact that Ranma could distinguish things like temperature, smell, and taste discounted the possibility of a normal dream. Perhaps he was experiencing a past life?  
  
Before Tofu could think on that subject any further, Ranma came out of his daze and continued speaking. "I don't know how long we kissed. Seconds, years, it didn't matter. All I knew was that we were together.  
  
"We broke our kiss and I looked deep inta Her eyes and, to my surprise, I see pain there as a single tear rolled down Her cheek. 'What's wrong?' I asked Her with concern as I brushed the tear away with my fingertips. 'We won. It's over.'  
  
"She closed Her eyes and turned Her head to the side and spoke for the first time in my Dream. 'No. It's not over. It's far from over.'  
  
"I tense for a moment as the words She spoke sunk in; then I relaxed. I reached up and placed a fingertip on Her chin and turn Her head until She's lookin' at me again. 'Alright.' I say, 'What's next?'  
  
"'There are things we both must do. A great many things.' She says in that voice I somehow know She likes ta use to tease people when She knows things She ain't suppose ta talk about. But I know that it ain't never bugged me.  
  
"I grin, knowing; somehow; that whenever I do that it always drives her crazy. 'A long as we're together we ain't got nothing ta worry about, right?'  
  
"Then, She smiles. A small, sad smile. I look deep inta Her eyes and see something that; in the Dream; I know I've seen once before shortly after we met. A sadness; a deep, all consuming, timeless sadness.  
  
"'I'm so sorry Ranma.' She says softly as she gently presses her lips against my forehead."  
  
The room was quiet as Tofu, who was on the edge of his seat, watched Ranma intently. The pig-tailed youth sat there, his crystal blue eyes unfocused, as he was lost in his own thoughts. Finally, the doctor broke the silence.  
  
"And then?" Tofu asked softly.  
  
"That's it." Ranma said, coming out of his daze.  
  
"That's it?"  
  
"Yea. If there's more I can't remember. So tell me Doc, am I losing my mind?" Ranma asked with a hint of anxiety in his voice.  
  
Sitting back in his chair, Tofu removed his glasses with a sigh. Pulling a piece of cloth from a pocket, he began to clean them while he spoke.  
  
"No Ranma. I don't think you're not losing your mind." Ranma relaxed in his chair as Tofu placed his glasses back over his eyes. "However, I don't think that what you're experiencing is a normal dream. It appears to be too vivid, to; as you put it; real to be a dream."  
  
"Then what's happenin' to me?" Ranma asked as worry crept back into his voice.  
  
"There are two possibilities. The first...well, have you ever heard of reincarnation?"  
  
"Ya mean how when someone dies, their soul comes back? Yea I've heard of it. Ya mean to say..."  
  
"That you're remembering a past life? Yes, it's quite possible; although the odds that you had the same name in a previous incarnation as you do now are astronomically small it's still a possibility. I mean," Tofu said with a small smile on his face "after all we are talking about you here."  
  
"And the other possibility?"  
  
Sighing deeply, Tofu replied. "I think you already know."  
  
Looking down at the floor, Ranma was quiet for a moment. Then, softly, he said, "It really happened. It's real...She's real and I can't remember Her."  
  
Silence reined in the office as Ranma absorbed what the doctors' words. Tofu studied him intently for a few moments, then reached over and stopped the recorder.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ranma, but I really do need to get going." The doctor said, removing the tape and placing it in his pocket with the drawing. "I'll look into what you've told me and I'll see what I can find out for you."  
  
"But your vacation..." Ranma began to protest, but was interrupted by the doctor.  
  
"You've given me a mystery to solve Ranma. Besides I was planning to do a little research anyway; this just gives me something to concentrate on."  
  
"Well, if ya insist." Ranma said; the cocky grin that Tofu was use to seeing appearing on his face. Standing up, the pig-tailed young man said, "I'd better get going then. Kasumi probably has dinner ready."  
  
Realizing his mistake at mentioning the 'K' work, Ranma moved swiftly towards the door as Tofu's eyes began to glaze over. Before he could open the door, however, Tofu regained his composure and asked one last question.  
  
"Ranma, wait. What do you plan to do? If it really happened and you can't remember, I mean?"  
  
"If it really happened?" Ranma said slowly, the far away look reappearing in his eyes. "All I know Doc, is that in the Dream; or whatever it is; when I'm with Her...when I'm with Her, I know that everything is right in the world."  
  
**********  
  
Somewhere...  
  
**********  
  
To say that she had had a bad day today would be a major understatement. She had spent all afternoon with Them. Not that They are all that bad in and of themselves; but get Them together when there isn't a crisis of one sort or another going on and they act like...like a bunch of giddy school girls.  
  
Which they are, but that's beside the point.  
  
Just because several of them noticed that she was polite to the geek who runs the Arcade, they got the idea that she like the baka and; of all things; tried to set her up with him. At the time, she didn't know whether to tell them where to shove that idea or to knock the geek across the room when he approached her to ask her out. Looking back, part of her wished she had done both instead of politely rebuffing him.  
  
Then the one she had sworn her life to protect; the one she had waited uncounted ages for to arrive; would not shut up about her future husband. How nice he is, how handsome he is, how wonderful he is, how good a kisser he is, how great in bed he is (Ok, not that last one, but sometime she wished the two would just get it over with; which was yet another thing that frustrated her to no end). She had just gone on and on and on. It almost made her want to grab those stupid ponytails of hers and shove them down her throat, the future be damned.  
  
And, to top it all off, this morning her roommates had spent hours in the bathroom doing Kami knows what. Not only had they used all of the hot water but, to add insult to injury, they used up the last of her shampoo. Her special shampoo. The one made with the extract of peaches.  
  
So yes. She had had a bad day.  
  
Which was why she was here. After all, here she could be alone with her thoughts. Here she could be herself. It was the perfect place to relax in peace and quite, especially since the only way someone else could be here was either by her permission or by breaking the laws of physics.  
  
Finally reaching her goal, she knelt down and; for a moment; looked at the bundle of black cloth before her fondly. She then slowly unwrapped the bundle and a soft, pale green light infused the air. She reached down, caressed the object before her, and felt all of her anger and frustration slip away.  
  
"It won't be long now." She whispered as a small smile appeared on her lips. "It's won't be long until we're together again, my love. And nothing will ever be able to separate us again."  
  
After a few moments looking at the object, she rewrapped it and stood. Feeling much better, she decided to go home; after all, she had to go out and buy more shampoo. As she began to walk away, an odd thought crossed her mind, but she shrugged it off as she always did.  
  
"After all, who would ever think of looking behind the Gates of Time for anything?" She said with a smile as she disappeared.  
  
**********  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Well, I've finally gotten to revising the prologue, so I  
  
Hope you like it.  
  
If you want to send me flames or praise or even suggestions, please  
  
e-mail me at whiteb100@hotmail.com  
  
This fic and others can be found at my FF.Net account, which is  
  
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=266642  
  
Or you can link to my FF.Net account from Thermopyle's website   
  
http://thermopyle.anifics.com  
  
And (although I still need to get them updated) at  
  
http://tannim.anifics.com  
  
11/27/03 


	2. Chapter 01

Bless'ed Are We  
  
a Sailor Moon/Slayers/Ranma 1/2 Fanfic  
  
by SoftRogue  
  
whiteb100@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
I don't own any of the characters mentioned  
  
here. I don't mean any disrespect to their  
  
creators. In fact I hold them in the highest  
  
of regards. They are the Gods above us all.  
  
They can do no wrong whatsoever!  
  
(There, I think I kissed up enough.)   
  
**********  
  
Chapter 01  
  
**********  
  
**********  
  
Somewhere...  
  
**********  
  
To understand the room, you must first understand its owner. While it would be impossible to truly understand the owner, there are several simple facts that are obvious to anyone who knows her (not that there are many who do, mind you.). The first is that she is very much a creature of comfort, preferring to forgo the trappings that others who might hold similar positions of power would think of as a matter of course in favor of her own physical pleasure. The second is that she DOES hold a position of power, and she knows well never to let any 'visitors' forget that fact.  
  
So the fact that she was lounging on a simple (but very comfortable) divan that was draped in animal furs and was wearing loose fitting jeans and a shirt with the tail tied up exposing her midriff didn't surprise her visitor. Neither did the fact that the room didn't appear to have walls or a floor or a ceiling for that matter. Or that there was no source of light in the room whatsoever yet she could be seen clearly. Of course, the fact that he had been here countless times before might also have something to with the reason it didn't bother him.  
  
Looking at her visitor, she rose up on one elbow and arched an eyebrow at him. "Well?" She asked with a husky voice.  
  
Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, he replied. "It's as we anticipated. They've begun their plans."   
  
She leaned back with a slight nod. "I see. It's sooner than we foresaw, though."  
  
"That IS to be expected. After all, they aren't exactly known for their patience. Or their intelligence for that matter." Her visitor said flippantly.  
  
"Of course not. If they were, they would be working for me." She stated simply. "I still would like to know what they're thinking they're going to accomplish by moving so soon." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and her visitor prepared to speak. Seeing him open his mouth she stopped his words with a hard look and said, "Don't you dare. I know exactly what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it."  
  
She reached down and lifted a goblet filled with a dark red sticky viscous liquid and took a sip (her 'peers' and others who knew exactly who and what she was would automatically assume what the drink was; and they would be wrong. Her visitor, however, knew for a fact that it was cherry Kool-Aid made with three times the sugar and powered mix and half the water the instructions recommend. After all, she enjoyed her pleasures and had a voracious sweet tooth and never had to worry about tooth decay).   
  
"And what of my remaining 'siblings'?" she asked, letting contempt creep into her voice.  
  
"Your 'brother' up north is as inaccessible as ever and as for your 'sister', well...who really know what she's thinking anymore."  
  
"I see." She sighed huskily. "And is our...response going to be affected by this change of plans?"  
  
"Not really." her visitor shrugged, "She expected something like this to happen eventually, although not this soon. Of course, telling her will be half the fun." He grinned, obviously enjoying the thought.  
  
"Very well. See that everything is taken care of. But remember," she paused to emphasize her next point, "our very existence will be affected by what happens next."  
  
"Of course." her visitor replied and bowed deeply before fading from sight.  
  
Alone in the room, she frowned slightly looked deeply into her goblet. "What will the future hold for us?" she asked herself rhetorically.  
  
Unfortunately for her, her visitor hadn't left completely and chose to answer her question.  
  
"Now that's a secret."  
  
**********  
  
Nerima  
  
**********  
  
Ranma sighed as he looked out the window of his classroom with longing. School was just so boring! He didn't even know why he was here. Who really cared who did what over a hundred years ago to who or why when this number put next to this symbol and that number meant yet another number? It wasn't that he didn't understand that some people wanted to know stuff like that or even needed to know it; but he wasn't 'some people'. He had been raised to be a martial artiest; he was fighter whose skills were unparalleled. So why did he have to bother with this stuff?  
  
Finally, the lunch-bell rang and Ranma effortlessly hopped out the window and made his way over to the tree he usually ate his lunch at and devoured his food in seconds. With a sigh, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes in thought (although everyone else simply assumed he was sleeping). He had another Dream again last night and he couldn't shake the feeling that something in it had changed; but he had no idea what. Dr. Tofu should be back the day after tomorrow and Ranma hoped that he had some answers for him. Ranma needed some answers and soon, or he felt he would loose his mind.   
  
Of course, Ranma did feel guilty about a few things about his talk with Tofu. One of the things he didn't tell the doctor was he that the first time he had the Dream was right after Junsenkyo. He didn't mention since he knew that that Dr. Tofu would automatically assume it had something to do with his curse. Ranma Knew that his curse had nothing to do with the Dream. He didn't know how he knew but he was certain of it.  
  
Ever since that first night after leaving the cursed training grounds, Ranma had the Dream at least once a month or so. Something else he didn't tell Tofu was that every time he woke up from the Dream he would wake up in a sweat and...er, aroused as he would blindly grope around for Her; as if he expected Her to be there in his bed with him. Ranma didn't think that Dr. Tofu needed to know about that either.  
  
'Does this Dream...does She have something to do with Saffron?' Ranma asked himself, not for the first time.  
  
Ever since the events at Mt. Phoenix, the Dream had increased in frequency. Now he was having it almost every night. Due to years on the road, Ranma had learned how to get by without much sleep. But now he was forced to use every trick he knew of to keep himself going. With another sigh, Ranma turned his thoughts to another of the seemingly endless problems he had.  
  
'They're all getting desperate.' he thought to himself with a deep sigh.  
  
Ranma had hoped that after the failed wedding that everyone would back off; but in the year since then things had gone from bad to worse. Akane would switch back and forth from being nice to him then yelling at him and calling him a pervert faster than before. Ranma couldn't understand it; it's like...like she actually thought he enjoyed her yelling at him and being malleted by her. While it was true that Ranma enjoyed a good fight more than other people did, Akane would accuse him of the most ridiculous things! Ranma once thought that they might actually one day be happily married, especially after that time that Nabiki was his fiancée; the two of them had had a great time after the maze incident. But...that was the last time that he could remember that she had smiled at him like she did that first night in the dojo when she ask her if she wanted to be friends.  
  
Sighing again, Ranma turned his thought to Ukyo. To say that he had been shocked when he found out that his old buddy Ucchan was a girl was a major understatement. And when he found out that she was another fiancée...Ranma didn't know what to think. He had really hoped that the two of them could go back to the way they had used to be, just two good friends. At first, he thought that was how things were; he could talk to her about things that he couldn't say to anyone else. It took him a while, though, to realize that she was giving him a sympathetic ear only so she could get closer to him and use what she heard to 'win' him from the others.  
  
With a bitter sigh, his thoughts then turned to Shampoo. The Amazon was a complete mystery to him. He still had a hard time believing that she actually thought that she could win his heart through underhanded tricks, magic, and by threatening to kill anyone who was an 'obstacle' to their 'marriage'. But she had done those things and more in an effort to trick him into declaring his love for her. Why couldn't she see that every time she did those things he lost a little more trust in her? He was honestly worried what she would eventually do to those around him in order to get her 'Airen'.  
  
'They...they think I some sort of prize to be won. An object without any thoughts or feelings.' he thought to himself with resignation, not for the first time. 'Why can't they be more like Her?' While Ranma could remember little about Her from his Dream, he was positive that She respected him as a person.  
  
"Ranma?" he heard Akane said hesitantly from in front of him.  
  
"Oh, waz up, Akane?" He asked, opening his eyes and pulling himself away from thoughts about his Dream.  
  
"I was wondering..." she trailed off as Ranma looked at her closely then felt his blood run cold.  
  
Akane stood before him holding something that caused the pigtailed martial artist to break out in a cold sweat. "I made lunch for you this morning. You took off before I could give it to you." she said as she thrust the bento at him, trying to force him to take hold of it.  
  
'Oh, Goddess! I really don't to die!!' Ranma thought with a silent prayer.  
  
To his surprise, his prayer was answered.   
  
"Hi, Ran-chan! I made a special okonomiyaki just for you!" He heard Ukyo say cheerfully as she appeared before him.  
  
"No, Ranma wants to eat the lunch that I made for him. Right Ranma?" Akane asked sweetly through clenched teeth.  
  
"Why would he want to eat that toxic sludge when he can have real food?" Ukyo countered, holding out the okonomiyaki towards Ranma.  
  
"My food isn't toxic sludge!" Akane said as she rounded on Ukyo before opening the bento and turning back to Ranma. "Prove her wrong, Ranma! Eat the lunch I made for you. Now!"  
  
Ranma felt his stomach rise as he caught a whiff of Akanes cooking. Ukyo was about to unsling her battle spatula and fling the so-called food away when Ranma heard a second answer to his silent prayer.  
  
^Ding. Ding.^  
  
"Airen! Shampoo make too too good ramen for you! You eat now, yes?"  
  
"You stay away from my Ran-chan, you hussy!"  
  
"Aiya! Violent Kitchen Destroyer make new form of life, yes?"  
  
"HEY! I know that I got it right this time! Now if Ranma would just taste it and tell me how good it is..."  
  
"I don't think so, Akane. You're not getting anywhere near Ran-chan with that sludge!"  
  
"Stupid Spatula Girl is right."  
  
"Thanks. Hey! I have a name you know!"  
  
Shaking his head, Ranma stood and slowly walked away from the three girls who were a complete mystery to him. As he moved away, he could sense their battle auras come to life and, for the life of him, he couldn't find a reason to turn around and stop the coming battle. He knew that if he was lucky he would just be beaten into a pulp by the three girls for taking sides (it didn't matter who's side he took, even if he did take one, they would all assume he took someone else's side). Of course, if he were unlucky, he would end up with a mouthful of Akane's cooking.  
  
Only one person noticed Ranma as he walked away from the developing fight. The three fiancées of Ranma going at it was so commonplace that everyone in the school simply ignored it and assumed that Ranma would stop it by being flattened by the girls. Nabiki watched with narrowed eyes as Ranma almost aimlessly drifted across the schoolyard before he leapt on top of the school.   
  
The middle Tendo sister had noticed that Ranma had seemed almost distracted and listless at times in the past several months, but up until now she hadn't put too much thought into it. She had been making a LOT of money off of Ranma lately and had started to plan what she would do once she left for collage in a year. The attacks by Ranma's fiancées and rivals were at an all time high; and so was the damage to the house. So far she still had a positive cash flow; but if Ranma was about to do something drastic...  
  
'Yea, right. Like Ranma would just up and leave!' Nabiki snorted to herself. 'He doesn't know the first thing about living in the real world.'  
  
Still...he had been seeing Dr. Tofu a lot of late. He had even visited him just before the doctor left for his vacation. Nabiki hadn't been able to bug Tofu's office as of yet and it was starting to get to her. The good doctor had a knack of finding the listening devices she placed around the clinic. She would have given an arm to find out what those two talked about. Whatever it was, she knew that it had something to do with how Ranma has been acting.  
  
Ranma settled down on the roof of the school and relaxed. He knew that he would catch hell from his parents and Mr. Tendo for leaving Akane alone to face Shampoo and Ukyo. And from Akane. And Ryouga, Kuno, Nabiki, and who knew who else. And frankly, Ranma didn't care.   
  
'If they want to fight over me, then let them fight.' Ranma thought with another sigh. 'After all, Akane keeps insisting that she's a martial artist. It's time she proves it.'  
  
Ranma relaxed and closed his eyes. He tried to remember the Dream, to see what it was about it that changed last night, if it had even changed at all. 'It's probably just my imagination.' he thought to himself as he felt a familiar burst of Ki from the school grounds. Apparently, Hinako-sensei decided to put an end to the fight before it got out of hand.  
  
'Oh, well.' Ranma thought to himself as he slowly drifted off into sleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
He slowly moved down the passageway, his senses reaching out to find anything that didn't belong. It was dark down here, as dark as the grave; but that's how most of them liked it. The Sword in his hand was both an aid and a handicap in this place. Its pale green glow pushed back at the inky dark making it easier to see where he was going, however that same light caused shadows without form to flicker here and there. He didn't know how many times since he's been down here he thought that there was something there that wasn't. Of course, there were plenty of things that had struck from the real shadows.  
  
They liked the shadows. They were home in them in this world. Not that it kept Them from going out into the sunlight, however.  
  
The ground shook as he pressed himself against a wall and hoped the ceiling wouldn't cave-in. That had already happened twice before and he'd been forced to take several side-passages to continue on his course. He was almost there, he knew it; he FELT it. Deep in his soul, he knew the one he was looking for was just around the corner ahead of him.  
  
He paused and took stock of himself before he rounded the corner. He felt the familiar weight of the Sword in his hand as it's light soothed his worries and fears. He glanced at his cloths and for the first time realized that they were shredded. He remembered when one of Them had gotten in a lucky shot and embedded it's claws into his left thigh. It was a bloody mess, but he ignored it. He'd been trained to ignore just about any injury to his body as long as he could still fight. Besides, that claw hadn't been poisonous; unlike the one that scratched his face.  
  
He paused and touched his right cheek tenderly. It had only been because of the skills that had been beaten into him by his idiot of a father that the scratch hadn't been any deeper; if it had, he would have been dead. As it was, it was merely a scrape and he had fortunately been able to remove the poison before it had spread through his body.  
  
He shook himself out of his thoughts as the ground rumbled again. Not for the first time he wished he was back on the surface with Her. Truthfully, there wasn't much he could've done to help Her in Her fight; in fact he would probably would've just gotten in the way. He wasn't worried about Her, however, and knew that She could take care of Herself. Just like he was sure She was wishing that She were down here with him. Not that She was worried about him; She knew that he could take care of himself.  
  
It's just that he felt...whole with Her.  
  
He pushed his thoughts aside. She would win Her fight like he would win his. After all, they had no choice.  
  
With a deep, calming breath, he gripped the hilt of his Sword and rounded the corner. He entered a large cavern like room and saw the one he was searching for sitting on a dais on a throne made of skulls.   
  
"How typical." he muttered under his breath as he walked forward.  
  
The figure stood up and walked down the dais to meet him. He stood at about 6'2" and looked human. If humans had red skin, that is. But he knew better, he knew exactly what the creature before him was.  
  
"So, I see you could finally make it." the creature said, trying to stifle a yawn. "I thought perhaps you had gotten lost. It's been so bored just waiting for you."  
  
He let himself grin slightly and replied, "Well, ya didn't exactly give me a map ya know. If ya wanted me here sooner, ya shoulda' put out the red carpet. But don't worry, there's one now."  
  
The creatures' eyes flashed in anger briefly as another tremor shook the room. It then smiled and said "Too bad. It seems that that mongrel slut of yours won't be here to see you die."  
  
He ground his teeth together and gripped the hilt of his Sword tightly for a moment before he relaxed. "That ain't gonna' ta work, ya know. I know your kinds tricks and I ain't gonna' fall for them." He pointed his Sword at the creature and said, "With this Bless Blade I'll defeat ya in the name of my Goddess." He then brought the Sword back and, keeping it parallel to the ground, he raised the Sword to head level and shifted his right foot back. "Let's dance."  
  
The creature looked at him in anger before it...shifted. Once in its true form, it brought a clawed hand back, ready to strike. The two stood still as once again the room shook as another tremor rocked the surface above.  
  
Then, as one, they moved. Clawed hand extended forward to meet glowing Sword.  
  
**********  
  
Juuban  
  
**********  
  
In another part of Tokyo, something was happening that left the residents of that ward as indifferent as the residents of Nerima were to a martial arts fight. A creature had appeared and began destroying buildings and attack poor, innocent people. No big deal, really. After all, the Sailor Senshi had just arrived. They would defeat the creature like they always did and life would continue on as normal.  
  
However, like the residents of Nerima, those who lived in Juuban were about to find out that the rules had just changed.  
  
Sailor's Mercury, Venus, Moon, and Jupiter were the first to arrive, having heard the commotion as they were walking home from school. After they transformed, the four of them moved into position on a nearby rooftop to assess the situation.   
  
"Man, that thing must have cut in line several times when they passed out 'ugly'!" Jupiter stated as she looked at it.  
  
All of the Senshi agreed. It stood at about eight and a half feet tall and had giant bat-like wings. On top of its head were two horns that curled back like a rams. It had long fang-like teeth and large clawed hands and was a sickly green in color. Overall, it looked rather fearsome and nothing like what they had normally fought in the past. Most of the time, the things they fought against were either female in form or were some sort of possessed object, person, or animal. Whatever the creature was, it appeared to be natural, if such a thing could be called 'natural'.  
  
Mercury retracted her visor with a thought and snapped her computer shut. "Well, what ever it is, it isn't very powerful. I put it on the same level as one of Jedite's Youma."  
  
The rest of the Senshi looked at Mercury before Moon said, "You're kidding, right?"  
  
Mercury shook her head and looked at the others. "No. So...who gets to do the honors?"  
  
"Oh, me! Me!" Venus said as she raised her hand. She had seen several cute boys that had fled the creature as she had leapt to the rooftop and she hoped that they would stick around to see the Senshi cream the latest monster and she figured that it was her duty as Sailor V to give them a good show. Seeing that no one else volunteered, Venus hopped onto the ledge of the building and began her speech.   
  
"Ugly creatures like you shouldn't be allowed to roam around terrorizing the public! In the name of the Moon, I; Sailor Venus; will punish you!  
  
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!!"  
  
The creature looked up at the Senshi of Love just before the Crescent Beam struck and the ground exploded. On the roof, the Senshi looked at each other and shrugged before they jumped to the ground. As they approached the crater where the creature stood a moment ago, Mercury re-activated her visor and scanned for a moment before retracting it again.   
  
"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now." the blue haired Senshi said with conviction.  
  
"Damn! And it's been a long time since I've had a chance to pound something!" Jupiter said as she slammed a fist into her palm.  
  
"Jupiter...sometimes you worry me." Mercury muttered as she shook her head.  
  
Venus looked around, hopping to catch sight of those cute boys she had seen before. Not seeing them she said, "Ok...so, what now?"  
  
"Ice cream!" Moon said excitedly, glad that this was apparently just a random monster and not the signal that something bad was about to start. Saving the world from Evil was a full time job and it cut into her 'snuggle' time with her Mamo-chan.  
  
The other Senshi sighed and shrugged. "Might as well." Mercury reluctantly agreed.  
  
They turned to leave, secure in the knowledge that they had once again saved Tokyo from Evil in the name of Love and Justice. That's when things went horribly wrong. Just before they leapt to the rooftops, a ball of blood-red energy slammed into the back of Venus and sent her flying into a wall. The other three Senshi whipped around to see the creature they had just defeated standing there with an arm extended.  
  
"Ohhhh, the famous Sailor Senshi! I'm so scared! Ha! And here we thought that you would be an actual threat to us! Please!"  
  
Mercury summoned her visor and had pulled out the Mercury Computer; trying to figure out what had happened as she activated the emergency frequency. Moon rushed over to Venus to make sure that she was all right as Jupiter strode forward angrily.  
  
"I'll show you something that'll threaten you! JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"  
  
Mercury let out a gasp of shock as she saw the creature disappear completely from all of her scans the moment before the Oak Evolution would have struck it. "Well, that wasn't hard..." Jupiter said hesitantly as she turned to Mercury.  
  
"No!" Mercury exclaimed as she franticly typed on her Computer. "You didn't kill it! It just disappeared!"   
  
"Where did it go?" Jupiter said as she dropped into a defensive stance.  
  
"I don't know!" Mercury said, not understanding why she couldn't see where, or even how, it had disappeared. She was still trying to figure out what had happened when her world was suddenly filled with pain.  
  
Jupiter was looking at Mercury when she saw the air 'twist' behind the Ice Senshi. She started to call out a warning but was too late as could only watch as Mercury was struck from behind and thrown across the street.  
  
"You Bastard!" Jupiter yelled as she launched herself at the creature, figuring to fight it hand to hand and thus not give it time to disappear.  
  
Jupiter was fast. Jupiter was tough. Jupiter was strong. Jupiter was not prepared for the creatures' arm to stretch nearly three times its length and she was swatted into a nearby car, smashing its front end in.  
  
"STARLIGHT HONEYMOON THERAPY KISS!!"  
  
Sailor Moon had helped Venus back to her feet only to see both Mercury and Jupiter knocked around as if it were nothing. Not wanting to take any chances, she called on one the strongest attacks she had. The creature looked over to see the pure healing energy heading for him; she didn't want to see anymore of her friends hurt anymore.  
  
The creature looked over to see the pure healing energy heading for him.  
  
"EEEP!" it eeped as it vanished well before the attack could hit it.  
  
"That's it!" Mercury yelled as she unsteadily got back onto her feet. "Moon! You're the only one that can stop it!" It was a guess on Mercury's part, but a good one she felt; after all, it had fled well before the attack had come near it; unlike either Jupiter's or Venus's attacks.  
  
"Yea, like I'm stupid enough to just stand around and wait for her to hit me." a voice said from behind Moon.  
  
Acting on instinct, Venus shoulder-rammed Moon; both narrowly missing a swipe by the creature's claws. Looking up from the ground, they both saw the creature standing above them with its arm poised to strike.  
  
"WORLD SHAKING!!"  
  
"DEEP SUBMERGE!!"  
  
Sailor's Neptune and Uranus announced their arrival with their usual flair as they both launched into action to save their princess.   
  
"Are you alright?" both Moon and Venus heard the quite voice of Sailor Saturn from behind them.  
  
Moon and Venus both nodded in relief as Mercury and Jupiter (who had to literally pull herself out of the hood of the car she landed on) joined them and helped the two blondes to their feet.  
  
Uranus was about ask what the hell was going on when the creature suddenly appeared between her and Neptune and back-handed both of them in the face, sending them flying. The creature then looked directly at Moon and launched itself at her before any of the other Senshi could react.  
  
Well...all except one of them.  
  
"Silence Wall." Saturn said as she placed herself before Moon.  
  
The smirk on the creature's face was evident as it approached Saturn just before it once again disappeared. A split second later, Saturn felt something slam hard into her barrier. The creature reappeared the instant it hit the Silence Wall and hung there a moment before it slid to the ground.  
  
"What the???" the creature said in confusion before it was suddenly forced to dodge the swipes that Saturn took at it with the Silence Glaive. It was finally able to back away from Saturn and it once again disappear.  
  
For the next several minutes, the Senshi were forced to fight a defensive battle. The creature kept disappearing and reappearing at random, doing massive amounts of property damage as it knocked the Senshi around like rag dolls and effortlessly avoiding their attacks. All except Saturn that is, who he avoided like the plague. During these attacks, it would keep trying to get at Moon, who was being protected by her ever-vigilant Saturn.  
  
The Senshi were in trouble, and they knew it. The creature was too quick for them, and Mercury was at a loss as to how it kept disappearing and reappearing at will. They were getting tired and they were hurting. They knew that unless something changed, and soon, they would lose.  
  
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!!"  
  
The creature disappeared again as a flaming arrow sailed through the space it had just vacated. Sailor Mars leapt down from a nearby roof as she finally arrived.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked, as she approached the other Senshi.  
  
"Where the hell have you've been!" Jupiter snapped out, definitely not having a good day.  
  
"I'll tell you later." Mars said, not wanting to explain how she, of all people, had gotten detention.  
  
Before anyone could take exception to her dodging the question, they all saw Mars suddenly stiffen and spin around to face Moon. "LOOK OUT! FIRE SOUL!"  
  
Moon trusted her friends completely; so when Mars launched a gout of flame at her, she knew there had to be a good reason and she dodged (well, she fell on her butt, but it amounted to the same thing). Moon felt the intense heat streak above her and heard as it impacted something behind her. Turing around she saw the creature take the Fire Soul in the chest and was send into a wall. It got back to its feet and once again disappeared  
  
"How did you...?" Mercury started to ask before she was silenced with a wave from the Senshi of Fire.  
  
"Shush..." Mars commanded as she slowly spun around in a circle with slightly glazed eyes. "Can't you FEEL it? It's...it's like an open cesspool! There! FIRE SOUL!"  
  
The rest of the Senshi fired off their quickest attacks at where Mars had indicated. They looked back at her and saw her looking around intently. "OVER THERE!"  
  
Once again they opened fire to no effect. Before Mars could say anything else, she threw herself to one side to dodge a strike she felt coming from behind. After that, the creature changed its tactics. Making sure to keep its prey between itself and Mars, it continued in its struggle to attack Moon by taking out the rest of the Senshi.  
  
Mars was starting to get annoyed at being forced to curb her attacks for fear of hitting one of her friends. She suddenly paused and slapped her forehead as she realized WHY she seemed to know where the creature was going to attack. It wasn't a Youma/Cardian/Phage/whatever. It was an Akuma. A 'true' demon; not some creature created by someone or something to help their plans. And as a Shinto Priestess, an Akuma was something she had been trained on how to defeat since she had begun learning her faith.  
  
Her realization almost came too late. The Akuma had just grabbed Jupiter by her hair and slammed her repeatedly into the ground. Stepping over her, it raised its clawed hand and was about to strike at the dazed Senshi of Lightning.  
  
Mars quickly slipped a ward out of her elbow length glove and held it before her. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen. Akuryou taisan." she muttered, charging the ward.  
  
With a practiced flip of her wrist, she sent it flying through the air with deadly accuracy. The ward landed square between the Akuma's eyes and fluttered there for a moment before it seemed to paste itself over its face. Jupiter looked up with relief as she saw its eyes go wide as it suddenly stopped moving.  
  
"HIT IT NOW!" Rei yelled out. "MARS FLAME SNIPER!"  
  
  
  
"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"  
  
"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"  
  
"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"  
  
"SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE!"  
  
"SPACE SWORD BLASTER!"  
  
"SUBMARINE REFLECTION!"  
  
"STARLIGHT HONEYMOON THERAPY KISS!"  
  
Several blocks away, someone stood on the edge of a tall building watching the fight. She saw the energies of all eight attacks slam into the creature and the area explode in a cloud of dust. The watcher had been observing the entire battle with a mix curiosity, humor, surprise, and then finally disappointment. With a sigh, the watcher stretched her arms up to relieve the tension in its shoulders.  
  
Which was a neat trick; considering the fact that the watcher didn't Have shoulders.  
  
"How...disappointing." The watcher said with a surprising feminine voice.   
  
Her voice wasn't the only feminine thing about her. She had a shapely body and was well endowed. Although the fact that she was purple in color with green hair and no apparent mouth would distract quite a few people from her assists.  
  
Oh, yea. Her arms. How they seemed to float by where they should've been connected to her body also would have distracted most people from admiring her body.  
  
Her name was Auswei, and she was a Greater Mazoku. She had come with poor, little lamented Dargo to asses any threats her kind would have here in this place that would effect their plans. She had been selected for this task because she was intelligent and very good at strategy; something that Auswei knew many of her fellow Mazoku weren't good at. Dargo had come because he was...expendable.  
  
"They're not much of a threat." She said to herself as she assessed what she had just seen. "That stupid blonde in blue could be a problem; but only if we were dumb enough to stand in one place. The one in red, however, THAT was a little bit of a surprise. I didn't think anyone these days practiced the old forms of Shamanistic Magic. Still...she obviously isn't well trained. Now...how in the name of Shabranigdu did that small one stop Dargo from killing the blonde?"  
  
"You will never know, gutter trash!" A voice spat from behind Auswei.  
  
The Mazoku spun around to see a Senshi who hadn't been present at the battle. She was dressed in black and dark red and held her hands together before her and her eyes were closed. Auswei raised her eyebrows in surprise, and then smirked (which was another good trick, since she didn't have a mouth).  
  
"So...you think that You can stop me all by your lonesome? It took all of your little friends to beat Dargo and I am by far much stronger than he was." Auswei said with mirth as she strode forward.  
  
The Senshi in front of her suddenly opened her eyes and her crimson orbs glowed with power. Auswei was surprised when she suddenly found she couldn't move. She looked puzzled for a moment before she decided to retreat back into the Astral Plane. After all, if it had worked for a pitiful Brass Demon like Dargo it should work for her.  
  
The Mazoku was shocked when she discovered she couldn't move to the Astral Plane. She narrowed her eyes as she 'studied' the magic that held her, then gasped loudly.  
  
"Holy Magic!?" She exclaimed. "How did you learn Holy Magic?"  
  
"I had a good teacher." The Senshi said in a cold voice as she began to slowly walk forward.  
  
Auswei panicked for a moment before she smiled a small, private smile (again, a really good trick). It had been a very long time since she had encountered Holy Magic, but she recognized the spell that had been cast on her. It would only take her a moment or two to dispel it; then she would rip the heart out of this human. After all, some secrets are best left in the past. All she had to do was distract the human for a few seconds.  
  
"Oh...so what are you going to do? Flash me? Oh I know! You're going to repeat a corny speech about love and justice over and over until I die of boredom, right?"  
  
The Senshi stopped before the trapped Mazoku and spoke in a voice devoid of emotion. "No gutter trash, I'm going to do this."  
  
Auswei gasped as the Senshi...shifted. Suddenly she knew Who; knew What; stood before her. "You!!" she cried out in panic and anger just before pain blossomed through her chest.  
  
A few moments later Sailor Pluto stood alone on the rooftop, rubbing her arms and shoulders as she looked at the dust that had once been a Greater Mazoku. "I HATE doing that!" she muttered to herself, trying to massage her aching muscles.  
  
Pluto reflected on the events that just occurred as she walked over to the edge of the building to see her fellow Senshi begin to recover from their fight. She really hated to do what she had just done. Not killing the Mazoku; oh no, she would happily kill any of Them she came across; but she hated how she had to kill it. Since Mazoku weren't affected by the passage of Time, she couldn't use the power granted to her as the Senshi of Time to kill the filthy...thing. However, she wasn't yet ready to let the others know certain...things about her, so her options were limited. Yes, she could have killed it in a half a dozen ways that were more effective and less painful to her; but the other Senshi would have noticed what happened and would have rushed to the scene. And she wasn't ready for the questions they would've asked her.  
  
So, she had used her 'alternate method' for dealing with 'problems', even tough the pain it caused her would bother her for days. The pain was worth it however; it left one less of Them.  
  
Seeing that the rest of the Senshi were fine, Pluto turned back to the remains of the Mazoku. "Why were you here?" she asked, obviously not expecting answers. "Were the two of you just a random occurrence? Or...is it time? But it's too soon..."  
  
Pluto shook her head as she continued to massage her aching muscles. Knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to find any answers just standing around she, decided that she had enough time to go home and take a relaxing bubble bath before she went to amazed and frustrated her fellow Senshi.  
  
Pluto disappeared from the rooftop, thoughts of warm water and bubbles and someone she wished could join her to rub her sore back her filling her thoughts. Perhaps in the long run it was good that she left when she did. If she hadn't, she would have seen what happened next. If she had stayed, then things would have been much more...frustrating for her and caused her countless headaches.  
  
Not that she wouldn't get frustrated and headaches later, mind you. But at least this way, she would be able to enjoy her bubble bath in peace.  
  
Back on the ground, the Senshi all looked with surprise at the dust cloud that was the result of their combined powers. Mars let out a sigh of relief as she could no longer sense the Akuma. She had felt the thing 'die' when their attacks hit the thing.  
  
"Got it!" the Fire Senshi said with conviction, but was surprised when she saw twin blonde ponytails streak past her.  
  
"What?" she said in confusion.  
  
"Jupiter!" Moon cried out as she dived into the dust cloud.  
  
The rest of the Senshi eyes went wide as they remembered that the creature had been standing above their fellow Senshi. They were about to rush in and follow there future Queen when they heard the sound of coughing and saw two figures coming out of the cloud.  
  
They all sighed in relief as they saw Jupiter walking out supporting Moon as she favored one foot. "What happened?" Uranus asked, concern in her voice at seeing the blonde of the pair leaning against the taller girl.  
  
"He, he, he...I tripped." Moon said with embarrassment, causing the others to sweat-drop.  
  
They then looked closely at Jupiter and several of them gasped. Her hair was singed, her face, arms, and legs were blackened with soot and her fuku was shredded; leaving her practically naked.   
  
"Cough, cough Next time, make sure I'm out of the way. Alright?" the brunette said evenly as she favored one arm.  
  
Without even being asked to help, Saturn moved forward and used her healing powers on the two injured Senshi. "Mars?" Mercury asked as they all watched Moon test her now healed ankle, and almost fall over again. "How were you able to stop, let alone find that thing?"  
  
"I'll explain later back at my place." Mars said as she looked around to see the others nod in acknowledge (some more reluctantly that others).  
  
The eight Pretty Sailor Solders of Love and Justice were about to go their separate ways to meet up later at the Hikawa Shrine when they all heard something that made them pause.  
  
^Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.^  
  
**********  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
He, he, he. Ain't I a stinker?  
  
I LOVE doing that! Setting something up and then just   
  
just leaving it hanging.  
  
Well, you'll find out this and more in chapter 2. Whenever   
  
I get around to writing it, that is.   
  
If you want to give me any C&C, flames, praise and/or   
  
comments just drop me a line at whiteb100@hotmail.com  
  
This fic and others can be found at my FF.Net account, which is  
  
www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=266642  
  
Also, you can link to my FF.Net account from Thermopyle's website   
  
http://thermopyle.anifics.com  
  
And (although I still need to get them updated) at  
  
http://tannim.anifics.com  
  
11/27/03 


	3. Chapter 02

Bless'ed Are We  
  
a Sailor Moon/Slayers/Ranma 1/2 Fanfic  
  
by SoftRogue  
  
whiteb100@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
No seafood was harmed in the making of  
  
this fanfiction.  
  
**********  
  
Chapter 02  
  
**********  
  
**********  
  
Juuban  
  
**********  
  
^Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap^  
  
The Senshi looked around in confusion as they heard the slow applause.  
  
"Brava! Bra Va! Most impressive!" someone cheered.  
  
Looking around some more, the Senshi looked up and saw someone sitting precariously on a nearby lamppost. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and dark green windbreaker over a tan turtleneck sweater. Tucked under one arm was an oddly shaped staff as he clapped politely as he smiled at them with a fox-like face that was framed with long purple hair.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Uranus demanded; tighten her grip on her Space Sword.  
  
Without missing a beat, the man slipped off the lamppost and landed in front of the Senshi. "Why, my name is Xelloss." He said as he bowed with a flourish, "I am but a humble wandering priest."  
  
"Oh..." the Senshi of Love said with hearts in her eyes.  
  
Glancing around, Uranus saw Moon looking excited at the so-called 'humble priest' while Mercury was consulting her Computer with a perplexed look on her face. Both Jupiter and Saturn looked exhausted; the taller girl from the beating she had just gone through while the younger girl from healing the brunette's injuries. The Senshi of the Sky wasn't surprised to see Venus acting love struck...again; but what surprised her was the look that Mars had. The Senshi of Fire's face was completely white and she was trembling slightly.  
  
"'Humble Priest' my ass…" the shorthaired blonde said, narrowing her eyes at the stranger.  
  
"You saw our fight?!" Moon exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"Indeed. How you handled that Brass Demon was...innovative to say the least." Xelloss said, without the slightest trace of sarcasm.  
  
"You know what that thing was?" Mercury asked curiously.  
  
"Oh yes. A Brass Demon is what you would call…oh, what was that phrase again? Oh yea, I remember; cannon fodder."  
  
"That's it! Who are you! I want some answers, buddy!" Uranus exclaimed angrily, pointing her sword at Xelloss's chest…  
  
Only to find he was no longer there…  
  
Looking around, she was surprised; and infuriated; to see him kneeling before Sailor Saturn. Bringing an arm across his chest, he bowed his head low. "Lady Saturn I presume? It is an honor and privilege to meet you." He intoned with piety.  
  
"Um...thank you...?" The young Senshi of Death and Rebirth said with embarrassment as she blushed and fumbled the Silence Glaive in her hands.  
  
Rising, Xelloss smiled at her and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Cute kid." He said.  
  
Uranus growled softly and was about to launch herself at Xelloss, but someone beat her too it...with very different intentions.  
  
"You know about those things?" Sailor Moon asked with a hopeful look. "What are they? Are their more of them? Will you tell us? Please? Pleasepleaseplease???"  
  
Xelloss raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak. All of the Senshi, including Uranus who was still looking at him crossly, leaned close to listen.  
  
"Well, you see...That's a secret!"  
  
"...ow..." Moon muttered; her face planted in the ground.  
  
A slight movement off the side caught Uranus's attention. Looking over at Mars, the shorthaired blonde saw that the pale faced Senshi of Fire had slowly removed another of her wards from her elbow length gloves and was holding it in trembling fingers. Xelloss also noticing Mars movement, he turned his head towards her as his ever present smile took on a slightly sinister cast as he looked at her with his purple eyes.  
  
"Now Lady Mars, that's not a very polite thing to do. After all, we're all friends here, aren't we? We wouldn't want any…problems between friends, now would we?" he asked as he helped Moon to her feet, never talking his eyes off of Mars.  
  
Reluctantly, Mars nodded and the ward slipped from her fingers. Only Moon and Venus seemed to have missed the interaction between Xelloss and Mars. Jupiter and Saturn tensely looked between the two with curiosity while both Uranus and Neptune glared at Xelloss with open hostility. Mercury, meanwhile, was furiously consulting her Computer with a perplexed look.  
  
"That's good." Xelloss said, his face taking on a friendly cast again. Raising a hand, he glanced at his wrist...which was conspicuously lacking a watch. "Oh, look at the time. I'd better get going..."  
  
With that, Xelloss quickly turned around and slipped down a nearby alley. "Oh, no you don't! Come back here!" Uranus yelled as she charged after him.  
  
"Ah...Xelloss-san..." Venus sighed, looking down the dark alley.  
  
A moment later, a loud crashing noise was heard. Uranus shortly came out of the darkened alley covered in filth as she picked a banana peel off of her shoulder as she cursed softly under her breath.  
  
"What happened?" Neptune asked worriedly as she moved forward to help the blonde.  
  
"I don't know...He just disappeared..." Uranus replied crossly.  
  
"Let's go...My place...Now!" Mars snapped, clinching her jaw as she looked around at the other Senshi.  
  
"But Mars..." Moon started to whine, only to be cut off by a sharp look from the Senshi of Fire.  
  
"Now!!" She said in a tone that promised a lot of pain if a certain ponytailed girl didn't do what she said.  
  
**********  
  
Nerima  
  
**********  
  
"Gah!!" Ranma shouted as he bolted to his feet, landing easily in an offensive stance.  
  
For several moments he stood there, breathing heavily as his heart raced, before he realized that there was no danger and relaxed. "It was another Dream..." he said quietly.  
  
Looking around, Ranma realized that he was still on the roof of the school. "Must have dosed off...I wonder what time it is..."  
  
With a deep breath, the pigtailed youth was about to head off to try to at least finish the school day and reflect on this new dream when he felt like something was off. No, not off...different. He looked down at himself and realized what was bothering him; it was his stance. It wasn't 'The Grouchy Bear Awakens', one of the basic stances of the Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu that his Pops had literally beaten into him (like 'The Swarming Locust Descends On Food' or 'The Crafty Crow Takes Shiny Object'). Instead, it was a stance obviously designed for a weapon...a sword. Slowly, Ranma looked down at his clenched fist; expecting to see the Sword that had been prominent in his Dreams only to see nothing but air.  
  
"The Bless Blade..." he whispered as memories of his newest Dream surfaced.  
  
With a sigh, Ranma stretched the kinks out of his muscles and rubbed the side of his face irritably, remembering more and more details of his Dream. He paused as he traced the nearly faded scar on his cheek where Ryouga had nicked him in their first fight here in Nerima. Frowning, he felt another scar, one much older, that ran nearly parallel to the one 'P-chan' had given him.  
  
With an almost morbid curiosity, Ranma undid the drawstring of his pants and looked at his left thigh. He knew that his body was a 'roadmap of pain' (as he had once heard from some monk he had been left with by his Pops during his training trip) and was criss-crossed with scars from all the insane training the Panda had put him through...if you knew what you were looking for. Because of that same training his Pops had put him through, Ranma had learned at an extremely young age how to use his Ki to heal his wounds.  
  
'Of course the only reason he even taught me that was so I wouldn't slow him down because I was hurt.' Ranma thought bitterly.  
  
Inspecting his thigh, Ranma saw the remains of what looked like what had once been a nasty looking gash. The problem was he had no idea where he could have gotten it from. It could have been from the time Pops had him leaping around slick rocks in the middle of white water rapids, or the time he had been dodging sharpen stakes that were thrown at him while standing on his hands, or the time he had hauled the Pops fat ass through a swamp filled with wolves and alligators, or it could have been from something...unnatural.  
  
"Could it have all be real?" He asked himself, before a sharp noise interrupted his musings.  
  
Turning around, Ranma looked behind him and saw Hinako-sensei in her adult form standing at the now opened entrance to the roof. "Ha! I have you now, you delinquent! Think that you can just skip my class; do you Sao...to...me...?"  
  
Relaxing from his cringe at the Happo Tsurisen Gaeshi that failed to appear, Ranma looked at his teacher with concern. "Are you alright, Hinako-sensei? You don't look so good; your face is kinda flush." He asked, failing to notice that his pants were still down around his ankles.  
  
"Ranma? Are you up here?" Another voice said from behind Hinako that revealed itself to be Akane's as she stepped out of the stairway.  
  
"Oh, hey Akane." Ranma answered dispassionately as he noticed that one of her left arm was in a makeshift sling.  
  
Akane was about to say something, but the words died in her throat as she took in the condition her 'fiancé' was in. Her face purpling in rage, she stormed forward. "You Pervert!" she yelled as she hit the hapless pigtailed boy with an uppercut.  
  
"Uncute Tomboy!!" Ranma's voice could be heard as he sailed off the roof.  
  
**********  
  
Juuban  
  
**********  
  
"Gee, Rei. You've been quiet ever since we've started walking. What's wrong?" Usagi asks innocently as the eight girls make their way up the steps of the Hikawa Shrine.  
  
"What's wrong? What's wrong! Don't you get it, meatball head! Those things were evil!" the Shrine Maiden snapped.  
  
"Well...duh, Rei. I think we've already figured that out." Usagi replied sarcastically.  
  
"You don't understand." Rei said as she paused on the steps to look at the others. "They weren't evil as in 'they want to kill everyone and destroy the world evil'. They were evil as in Evil with capitol E! You got it!"  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment before the black haired girl turned and started back up the stairs. "Rei?" Ami interjected, "You keep saying 'they'. Do you mean that there was more than one of those creatures?"  
  
Without looking back at the blue haired girl, Rei replied. "Couldn't you tell? There was that Akuma that we dusted and..."  
  
"Don't say it...don't say it..." Minako whispered loudly as she crossed her fingers.  
  
"...and that 'Xelloss' creep." Rei finished.  
  
"Ha! I knew it!" Haruka exclaimed with vindication.  
  
"No!! It's not fair!" Minako cried. "Why is it that every cute guy I meet is either a bad guy, already taken, or gay?!"  
  
"Rei? How were you able to tell?" Michiru asked curiously, ignoring the distraught blonde.  
  
"You mean you couldn't tell?" Rei asked surprised as she looked back over her shoulder.  
  
All of the other girls, except Minako; who was still busy lamenting the seeming lack of good boys; shook their heads. Opening her Computer, Ami began to look through her data. "As for the Akuma or Brass Demon, the readings I kept getting didn't show that it was that powerful and for some reason I couldn't track him when ever he disappeared. And as for Xelloss, what I got on him was...strange to say the least."  
  
"What do you mean, Ami?" Makoto inquired.  
  
"Well, one moment he seemed like a normal person, but then all of a sudden I couldn't get a reading on him at all." Ami replied with a perplexed look.  
  
"Perhaps he isn't bad?" Minako asked hopefully.  
  
"Believe me. He's evil." Rei stated. "That Akuma 'felt' sickly and oily but it was nothing compared to that...that thing. It 'felt' at least a hundred times worse that Akuma was." The priestess finished with a small shudder.  
  
"What do you mean by 'felt', Rei?" Hotaru asked as they reached the top of the stairs and made their way across the courtyard of the Shrine.  
  
"I don't know how else to explain it. I could 'feel' the wrongness of those creatures." Rei paused and looked at the young girl. "Ever since I was little, Grandpa taught me the way of our faith. One of the first things he taught me was how to know when one of those creatures were around a how to stop it. And..." she stopped and took a deep breath before saying in a quiet voice, "...and I don't think I could have stopped that Xelloss creature."  
  
It was quiet as they approached the Shrine proper. "So...what are we going to do about what happened today?" Haruka asked as Rei slid open the screen and motioned everyone to go inside.  
  
"Absolutely nothing." A voice answered from inside.  
  
Sharing a look of shock, the girls quickly entered and saw Setsuna sitting calmly by the Sacred Fire. "What do you think you're doing here?" Rei demanded.  
  
"Having some tea." The emerald tressed woman replied calmly. "Would you like some? I have some cake as well."  
  
"Ohhh. Cake!" Usagi exclaimed as she pushed herself forward and sat next to Setsuna with a thump.  
  
Ignoring the hyperactive blonde with the sweet tooth, Haruka shot her roommate an anger look. "What do you mean that we do 'absolutely nothing'!?" she demanded.  
  
With an enigmatic smile on her face, Setsuna simply motioned for the others to take a seat. After everyone had sat down, including a reluctant Haruka, the emerald tressed woman spoke.  
  
"Well Haruka, I believe that I was being rather clear. If you encounter another creature like the one you fought today, you are to try to avoid fighting it at all costs."  
  
Only the sounds of the crackling fire could be heard as everyone stared at Setsuna as if she had grown a second head. "But Setsuna," Usagi said, breaking the silence, "We can't just let evil creatures rampage around without doing something."  
  
Look kindly at the pony tailed blonde girl; who happened to have two handfuls of cake; the older woman spoke. "With all do respect Princess, the creature that you fought is known as a Brass Demon. Brass Demons are the weakest of race of...creatures known as Mazoku. In case you've forgotten, it took the eight of you the defeat it."  
  
"But, Rei was able to stop it with one of her wards." Ami interjected. "And it couldn't get past Hotaru's Silence Wall and it was definitely afraid of Usagi's powers."  
  
Nodding her head, Setsuna conceded to the young genius' points. "True, Mazoku feed off of the negative emotions of humans; so Sailor Moon's attacks would be lethal to them. However, as you saw, they are quite fast and it would be difficult for her to hit one. And while it is true that Rei was able to use her Shinto training to sense and then incapacitate the Brass Demon, she currently lacks the skills to be effective against more powerful Mazoku. As for Hotaru..." Setsuna trailed off and gave her adoptive daughter a long look, causing the young girl to shrink back slightly. "Yes...she would be able to destroy even the most powerful Mazoku, but the risk would be too high for us all."  
  
"So, what are we suppose to do then, huh?" Makoto asked with a hint of frustration. "Just sit back and do nothing?"  
  
"Yes." Setsuna replied simply. "There are...others who are better equipped to handle this possible threat."  
  
"Excuse me, Setsuna?" Michiru asked softly. "What do you mean by 'possible threat'?"  
  
The older woman gave the aquamarine tressed girl a look of mind reproach before she finally said, "Mazoku are not effected by the passage of time; therefore, the Gates of Time are blind to them."  
  
"WHAT!!" several of the girls exclaimed.  
  
"So...how do you know about them?" Ami asked curiously.  
  
"I've had my share of...experiences with them in the past." Setsuna replied, taking a sip of her tea. "None of those times were pleasant."  
  
"So...you've told us a lot of nothing about that Akuma or Brass Demon or whatever it was." Rei stated, fuming slightly from the older woman's causal dismissal of her abilities. "But you haven't said anything about that Xelloss guy."  
  
^CRUNCH!^  
  
All of the girls looked wide eyed at the teacup that Setsuna had just negligently crushed in her hand. "Excuse me?" she asked, her calm and cool demeanor ruined by the rapid twitching of her left eye. "Did you just say...Xelloss?"  
  
"Yea, Xelloss." Haruka said with a slight smirk, finally being able to enjoy seeing the ever composed and refined Senshi of Time apparently loose her cool. "You know; purple hair, annoying smile, smug attitude..."  
  
"I know who Xelloss is!" Setsuna snapped, shocking everyone present. In a much calmer voice she continued, "I am quite aware of who he is and what he can do."  
  
"So...is he 'evil evil' or is he 'evil bad'? I mean he is kinda cute..." Minako trailed off as everyone gave her a strange look. "Well, he is!" she protested.  
  
"He...he was nice to me..." Hotaru said softly, instantly drawing everyone's eyes to her.  
  
Setsuna looked at the young girl for a long moment. "Yes. Yes he would be nice to you." She said, her eyes showing a strange mix of kindness and sadness.  
  
An awkward silence passed before finally the emerald tressed woman stood. "If you would excuse me, there are things I must see to." She walked to the screen and paused after she slid it open. "Oh, one more thing. When, not if, you encounter Xelloss again; what ever you do, do not attack him."  
  
"Oh, why's that?" Haruka asked crossly. "We might piss him off and he'll attack us?"  
  
"No." Setsuna said slowly. "You might...amuse him; and that would be infinitely worse."  
  
**********  
  
Nerima  
  
**********  
  
"Stupid uncute tomboy."   
  
A red headed girl muttered irritably as she walked slowly down the streets of Nerima.  
  
"Stupid Panda."  
  
After he had been knocked off the building by a certain shorthaired fiancée, the pigtailed martial artist decided that the school day was a write off and walked around trying to think. After all, remembering the sling that Akane was wearing when she clocked him, Ranma knew for sure that skipping the rest of the school day would be the least of his problems when he got back to the Tendos.  
  
"Stupid perverts."  
  
Ranma had wandered around for hours, ending up in Tomobiki he had been splashed by a random kid with a squirt gun, only to meet up with a certain resident of who was as synonymous with that Ward as Ranma was with Nerima.  
  
"Stupid Panda."  
  
After escaping from another resident of that Ward who had an...electric personality, he had been fortunate to find some hot water and return to his natural form before heading back to Nerima.  
  
"Stupid Kunos'."  
  
Once back in Nerima, he then spent nearly an hour dealing with an insane kendoist, a crazy gymnast, a practitioner of the Anything Goes Martial Arts Hot Water Heater Repair, and a fountain in the park.  
  
"Stupid Panda."  
  
Finally, after leaving that entire mess behind, he decided to head back to the Dojo and face what ever was coming.  
  
"Stupid blind duck."  
  
Unfortunately, he had encountered Mousse on the way and had to spend even more time dealing with that annoyance, before a blast of water from a broken hydrant activated both of their curses. After shoving 'Mu Mu-chan' in to one of the delivery boxes he was caring and kicking it in the general direction of the Nekohanten; Ranma continued on his way.  
  
"Stupid Panda."  
  
So besides being wet, female, and no closer to the answer to the Dreams that have been plaguing him; Ranma approached the one place he really didn't want to go...but had no choice.  
  
"Stupid Panda."  
  
And as to why he kept muttering dark things about his father? Well, his father IS Genma Saotome after all.  
  
"Here you go." A voice suddenly said, breaking him out of his musings.  
  
Looking up, Ranma saw a guy with long purple hair framing a curiously smiling fox-like face. What got his attention, though, was the teakettle he was holding.  
  
"Thanks." The cursed martial artist said, accepting the hot water and using in, changing back into a guy.  
  
"No problem. No problem at all." The stranger said.  
  
Ranma looked at him closely, for some reason the stranger seemed familiar somehow. "Have we met before?"  
  
The stranger's smile became wider and he said, "That's a secret!"  
  
Ranma blinked twice, and then shrugged his shoulders. This was Nerima after all; he was used to much weirder things. "Yea, sure. Thanks for the water."  
  
Handing the teakettle back to the stranger, who seemed to be slightly disappointed, Ranma continued on the short distance to the Tendo Dojo. Arriving at the front gate, he paused to think about what he was going to do next. Frankly, he was getting tired of all the abuse that his Pops and Mr. Tendo and Akane kept piling on him about his duties to his fiancée. He was tired of constantly being the source of everyone's problems. He was tired of being blamed for every little thing that happened. And he was just plain tired.  
  
Nodding to himself, Ranma strode forward through the gate. Within seconds of entering the house, he was barraged by angry yells.  
  
"Ranma! How could you let those hussies that hang around you attack my poor baby!"  
  
"Ranma, you pervert! How could you go around flashing Hinako-Sensei?"  
  
"Boy! It's your duty to protect your fiancée! How dare you leave her alone?"  
  
Ranma looked at the three angry faces surrounding him. Looking at Mr. Tendo, the pigtailed boy said, "Your daughter is a martial artist. She should be able to protect herself."  
  
"That's not the point..." Mr. Tendo said furiously.  
  
"So...you're saying that she can't protect herself?" Ranma asked, knowing full well what was about to happen. After all, he had been down this road before many times before.  
  
"Daddy?!?" Akane turned to her father. "Are you saying that I'm not good enough to protect myself from those hussies?"  
  
"But...but...but..." Mr. Tendo stuttered.  
  
Ignoring Akane and her father, Ranma started heading towards the stairs to his room.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, boy?" his father demanded.  
  
"To bed. You can have my dinner."  
  
"Oh, ok." Genma said cheerfully. "Have a good night, son."  
  
Genma headed off to the dinner table as Ranma moved off to his futon. Part of the boy cursed to turn into a girl wish that he would be able to sleep with out any interruptions of any kind. But another part of him wished he would have another Dream just so he could see Her again.  
  
Meanwhile, at the dinner table, Genma waited expectantly for dinner to be served. This time he would be able to get all the food he wanted without having to fight with the boy to get what he wanted! Nothing could be better!  
  
"Where did Ranma go, Mr. Saotome?" a much calmer Akane asked as she entered the dining room.  
  
"The boy wasn't feeling well and went to bed." Genma said, trying not to salivate at the thought of the coming feast.  
  
"Oh..." Akane said dejectedly. "I wanted to apologize for to him for how I acted at lunch today."  
  
"There's no need to apologize, I'm sure it all was the boys' fault." Genma absently tried to consol the girl while he wondered where Kasumi was.  
  
"Well, I went to the trouble of making dinner for him." Akane sighed. "I guess that you can have his serving as well as your own Mr. Saotome."  
  
"Uh..." Genma stammered, suddenly realizing he hadn't seen either Kasumi or Nabiki for several hours. "You know, the boy might be onto something! I haven't been feeling all to well either. I guess I'll call it a night too; you know, early to bed, early to rise and all that!"  
  
Genma quickly left the dining room as fast as he could, completely ignoring the look of disappointment of Akane's face. With a sigh, she sat down and used a knife and fork to hack her off a piece of tempura she had made. A moment later, she was startled (but not surprised) to hear several loud thumps coming from upstairs.  
  
A moment later, a flash of bluish-white light filled the yard outside the yard. Akane saw a badly singed middle-aged martial artist land in the Koi pond and become a badly singed, soggy Panda.  
  
^Ah...that's my boy!^ Akane read off the sign that 'Mr. Panda' held up from the center of the pond. *Flip* ^Always learning new things^ *Flip* ^But why name such a powerful attack something silly as 'Bram Blazer'?^  
  
**********  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
Here you go, Thermopyle. Are you  
  
happy now? ^_-  
  
Yes, I do realize that it has been nearly  
  
10 months since I've updated this (or any  
  
of my Ranma/SM fanfics) and to my fans I  
  
thank you for your patience.  
  
Incase any of you were wondering, the reason  
  
I put all of my fanfics on hold was in part  
  
do to the fact that I didn't feel like I was  
  
getting inside my characters heads; especially  
  
with the SM cast. So, I took a break and ended  
  
up deciding to a pure SM fic and explore their  
  
characters. As a result, I came up with   
  
'A Meeting of Minds'; which definitely made me  
  
get into their heads, since it is a Setsuna/Ami  
  
match up, of which I know of only one other by  
  
Shanejayell.  
  
So, after exploring that for a while, I'm back to  
  
working on my Ranma/SM fics (although, right now  
  
'A Meeting of Minds' is currently on the top of  
  
my list of 'to do's') I hope to get another chapter  
  
of this fic out before I turn my attention back to  
  
'Dark King Ascending'.  
  
Anyway... If you want to send me flames or praise   
  
or even suggestions, please e-mail me at   
  
whiteb100@hotmail.com  
  
This fic and others can be found at my FF.Net account,   
  
which is www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=266642  
  
Or you can link to my FF.Net account from Thermopyle's   
  
website http://thermopyle.anifics.com  
  
And (although I still need to get them updated) at  
  
http://tannim.anifics.com  
  
11/27/03 


End file.
